Jacques Villeneuve visits Lotus

During a recent trip to catch-up with old
friends Villeneuve spent a day at Group Lotus’
UK head quarters where the 1997 Formula 1 World
Champion was presented with a chronicle of
Lotus’ rich history, from its founding years
with a tour of Colin Chapman’s first workshops,
to a session in the firm's latest offering, the
award winning Evora, on Lotus’ own test track.

It was a rare chance for Clive Chapman (son of
Lotus’ founder Colin Chapman) to share with
Villeneuve some of his father’s much loved
projects and the two exchanged
stories of the days they respectively shared
with their fathers when they were competing in
Formula 1.

It was a great moment for the Lotus workforce to
see Villeneuve passing through the manufacturing
facility often stopping to take in the detail of
the process and to pose for photos and
autographs. Recently appointed CEO of Group
Lotus, Dany Bahar, was keen to stress the
importance of this exciting visit to boost
morale saying, Jacques’ visit is an honour for
Lotus and Lotus is a team. Our people are a
blend of talent and expertise combined with
passion for our brand. Our highlights are theirs,
so this is a special day for us all."

Villeneuve was delighted to have spent the day
at the home of one of Britain’s most revered
motorsport marques and commented, "It has been a
great day for me to catch-up with my friend Gino
Rosato in his new role at Lotus and to see where
the magic of Lotus comes from. My first toy car
as a child was a replica model of Emerson
Fittipaldi’s Lotus 72, I could say his name
before I could say my dad’s! I really enjoyed
watching them racing when I was a boy. It has
been a really fun trip for me, to see the people
working to build the Evora was particularly nice."

Following Villeneuve’s drive of the Evora he
passed comment to the engineering team
responsible for developing the car. Villeneuve,
impressed with the performance of the car,
concluded "It's a really nice car, fun and
comfortable to drive".